The Faroe Islands 2023 stamps begin with a series of Franking Labels celebrating villages in the southern most island Suðuroy, Artist Janus Dam Guttesen’s follows up his 2022 Public Transport quartet with four new drawings.

The highlight of the 2023 program will be Martin Mörck’s two stamps – Martin Mörck No. 1000 and Stamp No. 1.000: The Cairn – and Faroe Island’s annual SEPAC stamp Traditional Markets. No scans were available when this article was published, so, I guess you have to keep coming back to enjoy the year. You can always sign up for the weekly newsletter to receive an alert when the program is updated. 

January

Villages in Suðuroy – Froðba, Hove, Tvøroyri and Trongisvágur
Franking Labels 2023 

4 stamps
Flexo printing

Four drawings by Janus Dam Guttesen
Janus D. Guttesen | Tekningar, illustratiónir tekniskeið (janusguttesen.fo)

Suðuroy is one of the most southern Faroe Island  Welcome to Suðuroy – Visit Suðuroy (visitsuduroy.fo)

• Froðba – Visit Suðuroy (visitsuduroy.fo)
• Tvøroyri – Visit Suðuroy (visitsuduroy.fo)
• Trongisvágur – Visit Suðuroy (visitsuduroy.fo)
• Hov | Guide to Faroe Islands : Guide to Faroe Islands

Stamps.fo has a solid write up of each village

Artist: Janus Guttesen

Release date: January 23, 2023

February

The Faroe Islands during the Cold War – 60 years on Sornfelli

Mini-sheet with 1 stamp + 1 single stamp
offset

Sornfelli – Visit Torshavn 

Sornfelli | Guide to Faroe Islands : Guide to Faroe Islands

From the Faroe Islands Post office write up:

60 years since the radar base at Sornfelli was taken into use

The Faroese radar stations played an essential role in the Arctic supply convoys, mainly transporting American military equipment to the Soviet port cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

 

The British also set up a so-called Loran (Long Range Navigation) station in Vágur on Suðuroy to obtain more precise navigational data at sea and in the air.

 

After the war, Denmark regained sovereignty over the Faroe Islands and Greenland (Iceland had then completely seceded from the Danish kingdom in 1944). The USA showed interest in the LORAN station in the Faroe Islands and offered to overtake its operation.  Denmark, however, having learned from the signing of unfavourable agreements regarding the American military presence in Greenland, rejected the offer and hastily decided to operate the station itself in 1946, even though they did not have qualified personnel for the task.
Stamps.fo

Photographer: Jákup Brúsá
Jákup Brúsá – serfrøðingar before talgilda marknaðarførslu (jakup.fo)

Release date: February 20, 2023

Landscape: Skálhøvdi

2 stamps,  self-adhesive booklet and 2 postcards (more coming)
offset

“Skálhøvdi” – Snar.fo

Photographer: Pól Sundskarð
About Pól Sundskarð (hikewithpol.fo)

Release date: February 20, 2023

Arnold Vegghamar
Series: art

2 stamps and 2 posters  (more coming)
offset

Artworks: Twilight, 1993, and Village, 2007

Artist: Arnold Vegghama
Vegghama is largely self-taught. He originally apprenticed as a goldsmith but is now largely known as a painter 

Release date: February 20, 2023

May

A Hymn for Peace  

1 stamp, sheets of 20, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset

Those of us growing up during the Cold War remember with horror the macabre nuclear ”standoff” between East and West in the aftermath of World War II, not to mention the bizarre nuclear armament, where both sides were constantly developing more powerful, longer-range, and more effective weapons of mass destruction that could wipe out all life on earth countless times over.

 

It was only with the inevitable collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late eighties – that both sides could breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the warm breeze of spring. The walls fell and the nations of Europe could once again meet as equals and brothers. It may have been an expression of boundless naivety, but to most of us, it seemed as if the imminent threat had been removed once and for all.

 

However, there were soon signs in the heavens that old habits are hard to break. The transition to liberal democracy had its ups and downs – and for us in the Western world, it was perhaps not quite obvious that it can be difficult to adjust to untraditional settings. The nineties and the first two decades of the 21st century were turbulent times, especially for Eastern Europe. However, for most countries, a democratic form of government was, after all, a logical consequence of social development. But where mistrust and tradition blocked development, democratic reforms floundered.

 

As a consequence of this development, the tensions between East and West have flared up again – with massive military armament as a result. Shocked by the development and with saddened hearts, we must confirm that the war is once again raging in the eastern parts of Europe. 
Anker Eli Petersen
Stamps.fo

Artist: Edward Fuglø
Fuglø designed over 22 stamp sets for Faroe Islands since his first, Christmas Seals, in 1997.  He is a multitalented who has illustrated @ 35 books, authored a number of his own, worked as set/art designer for a number of films and has an extensive portfolio that includes logos, magazine covers, posters, post cards and more. 

Release date: May 9, 2023

Europa 2023: Peace – the highest value of humanity

1 stamp. booklets of 6, sheets of 20, FDC, cancel, maxi card
offset

Designers Peace knot: Linda Bos / Runa Egilsdottir, Esch-sur-Alzette

Release date: May 9, 2023

June

Faroe Islands 1st NTS – Stamps of Maybe

4 Stamp +NFT NFC

• Spring air
• Summer fire
• Autumn earth
• Winter Water

Faroe Islands enters the NFT Crypto market with a 4 stamp set celebrating the four seasons. The series is designed to showcase the nature and landscape of the Land of Maybe: 

Nestled in the North Atlantic Ocean, between Iceland and Norway, lies a hidden gem like no other – 18 volcanic islets called the Faroe Islands. Often described as a land of maybe due to its ever-changing weather patterns and unpredictable natural landscapes. Towering cliffs, misty mountains, stunning waterfalls and rugged coastlines that seem to stretch endlessly into the horizon show that here nature reigns supreme.

Stamps of maybe – Stamps of maybe crypto stamps

Keep an eye on this set with Luc at his new layout here FAROE Isl – Crypto-Stamps.org

Designer: Heiðrik á Heygum
Heiðrik is a Faroese based artist, film maker and musician

Release date: June 23, 2023

August

Martin Mörck’s No. 1000 – The Cairn**

Mini-sheet with 1 stamps, FDC, cancel, souvenir folder (contains a black print of the stamp)
offset + engraving and special varnish such as sand and soft-touch + neon orange

In the Faroe Islands, cairns are always connected to the old village paths. It is ”gonguvarðar”, cairns serving as guideposts. Some cairns also mark the world corners of a settlement, such as Vesturvarði (West Cairn), Norðurvarði (North Cairn) and Suðurvarði (South Cairn) or cairns scoring the position of the sun. They are found in place names such as Middagavarði (Midday Cairn) or Nónvarði (nón = 3 p.m.). Cairns, in their monumental form, thus serve both as signposts and fixed points. Kongavarðarnir (King’s Cairns), which today refer to the neighbourhood building Undir Kongavarða close to Tórshavn, were built in 1907, on the occasion of King Frederik the 8th’s visit to the Faroe Islands.  
Stamps.fo

This stamp, the 1,000 from now legendary artist and engraver Martin Mörck was first released at the Great American Stamp Show (GASS) 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It features art by Faroese artist Edward Fuglø.

48 of the 1,000 designs/engravings Mörck has created, have appeared on Faroe Island stamps. His works have appeared on stamps for 28
postal administrations worldwide.    

** Faroe Posta originally announced Returning from fishing  by painter Emil Krause would be part of the set for the 1,000 stamp. A different design and cancel was tentatively shown in the Posta Stamps 08/2023 Magazine. The article included images of Mörck working on the design:

Photo from Faroe Posta Stamps 08/2023

Artist: ”The Cairn” by Edward Fuglø
Works (edwardfuglo.com) His first stamp was the 1997 The Christmas Seal. Since ’97, his works have been featured over 20 times. 
Engraver: Martin Mörck
Mörck is often considered the natural successor to legendary engraver Czesław Słania. He has worked with post offices and mints around the world.

Release date: August 10, 2023

Sepac 2023: Traditional Markets – Barter Exchanges

1 stamp, FDC, cancel 

Photo from the Faroe Islands National Museum

Release date: August 11, 2023

Huginn Mission

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, souvenir folder
offset

Astronaut Andreas Mogensen’s forthcoming ESA space flight

Faroe Posta offered a bit of insight into how the stamp was designed: 

When Posta was contacted by the University of Århus in Denmark, we were not asked to illustrate the exact purpose of the mission. Instead, we were asked if we could deliver an illustration of ravens, and Huginn in particular. We offered to make a stamp, based on the mission’s title – Odin’s mythical raven Huginn – and how it works as a symbol of science – the gathering of scientific information
Stamps.fo

Designer: Anker Eli Petersen
Petersen is a familiar name to Faroe Island collectors. His first design was the 2003 The Prophecy of the Seeress – Vøluspá set.

Release date: August 11, 2023

October

White-Water Lily (Nymphaea alba)

1 stamp, FDC, cancel

Artist: Astrid Andreasen

Release date: October 23, 2023

SALT – Sound Art Live Theatre 

Mini-sheet with 2 stamps, FDC, cancel

The Salt Silo was an industrial salt processing site on the Suðuroy islands. It was originally built 1937-38 and converted into a multi use theatre. Architect Albert Isfeldt, an from Tórshavn, and C.F. Møller Architects, Aarhus, Denmark headed the renovation of SALT and ensured 75% of the original structures were preserved. 

Photos: Fotostudio

Release date: October 23, 2023

Sheltered Workshops and Activity Centres – Angels 
Series: Christmas

2 stamps, 2 maxi cards, FDC, cancel, 2 postcards
offset

Christmas Angels created by Sheltered Workshops for sale

The angels are all handmade and unique. We aim for the process of producing the objects to be creative, and to evolve and contribute to the development of competence and inventive abilities. There is a lot of work behind each angel. No single citizen creates the whole angel himself or herself, but everyone does their part. One makes the body, another the wings, a third the halo, etc. In this way, the angel shows how people with different characteristics can work and progress together. No one is able to do everything. Everyone can do something – and together we can do a lot. Stamps.fo

Designer: Dagtilhaldið Fragdin and Verkhúsið Virkni

Release date: October 23, 2023

Christmas Seals (15)

15 seals on a sheet that form a larger angel, Christmas cards
offset

Designer: Jonna Ljósá

Release date: October 23, 2023